Thomas didn't know how to respond for a moment. He subconsciously touched his ear, just as he heard a voice from the production staff through the earpiece.
Production Team: “Mr. Taylor, the task is complete. Thank you for your hard work.”
Thomas said, “Understood.”
He breathed a sigh of relief, removed the earpiece, and showed it to Yvonne. “A task.”
Yvonne nodded, understanding. “Is it over now?”
“Yes. We should be able to leave.” Thomas stood up, walked to the door, and pulled it open.
Yvonne followed him out of the room.
A staff member was waiting for them right outside the door.
“Congratulations, Mr. Taylor and Yvonne, on being the first to complete the task.” The staffer handed them a card with the number one on it.
Yvonne accepted it with a playful smile. “Are we that good?”
Staff: “Yes, you are.”
Thomas added, “Yvonne is very smart and observant.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Taylor, but I don’t deserve it,” Yvonne replied with a polite and modest smile.
“Please, head to the lounge and rest for a bit,” the staff member said, guiding them to a waiting area.
Since the other contestants were still busy with their challenges, the lounge was empty except for the two of them.
Thomas picked up a bottle of water from the coffee table, twisted it open, and handed it to Yvonne. “Have some water.”
“Thanks,” Yvonne said, accepting it.
Thomas took a bottle for himself and, after a sip, asked, “Did you just get off the plane?”
A brief silence settled between them. The lounge remained empty as the other celebrities had yet to finish their tasks.
“Are you regretting joining this show? No wonder the first page of the script was blank. It was all a setup for pranks,” Yvonne said, trying to lighten the mood.
Thomas was taking a drink of water. He finished before replying, “No regrets. At least it gave me a chance to confess my feelings for you in front of everyone.”
His tone was clearly joking, but he kept his eyes lowered, hiding whatever emotions lay within.
Yvonne could only take it as a joke and laughed it off.
Finally, other contestants started to trickle in.
Dylan entered with a young male actor. They had clearly been paired up for a challenge and were both soaking wet.
Yvonne asked, “Didn’t you get to skip to the next round?”
Dylan explained, “The next round was an ejector seat. We had to answer questions to test our chemistry. We got launched over a dozen times.”

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